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Tapas in Spain

Live from Spain, this is Saturday Night!… just kidding, it’s only me, which is only slightly less exciting. My family and I arrived in Barcelona yesterday, and of course, I was so ready to eat everything and anything I could get my hands on. This resulted in 3 huge meals and gelato in the span of 48 hours. I feel like all I’ve been doing is eating, and I am absolutely okay with.

We started at 1902 Cafe Modernista, a treasure right next to the Administration Pavilion, or the Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau, which sounds so much nicer. After looking at the menu, five hungry Americans decided on just a few items to stem our appetite (pictured below). My favorites were the anhovy in olive oil (it was so fleshy, not too salty like the canned back home, freshhhh), the potatoes (which had a chipotle spice kick at the very end), and the roasted garlic that came with herring and stewed tomatoes. It was served in the shell and you squeezed it out. phenomenal. It was a great meal to be welcomed into Spain by.

About four hours and some beach walking later, we found ourselves in Agua in La Barceloneta. It had beautiful views of the beach and you could even sit outside with reservations. I had the best damn mojito of my life and my brother had this melt in your mouth octopus. That was the best octopus of his life; he’s a chef who works in Astoria with a background of working in NYC… you know it’s legit. I also ate duck fois gras and beef carpaccio with EVOO on toast. I’m drooling.

Today we continued our food journey at this place called Mil Grito’s Taberna. It’s on Las Ramblas near Catalunya and the square. It’s a small hole in the wall joint with bright walls and plants everywhere. They also made an amazing mojito- they used sugar instead of simple syrup. They give you a complimentary appetizer of sausages. I had a scallop burger tapa and beef and an iberian pork carpaccio. I am clearly in love with raw food. The carpaccio had a lot of mustard seed- a little overwhelming but it added to the texture quite nicely. The scallop burger was fresh, lightly fried, with seaweed chips to accent. It was the highlight. Pictured below is also my dad’s octopus and abuergine. Spanish chefs do not play around with presentation- it is the most beautifully presented food I’ve seen in my life. Get on Spains level, NYC. Please.

Spain has shown me complex flavors, beautiful presentations, and probably my new favorite food. I would travel to Spain just to eat. Check out my instagram- WishYouWereFood– for more pics from my adventure!